Wednesday, 2 May 2012

R.I.P Robbie Silva

Next cab of the rank from me is, R.I.P Robbie Silva, a bit of a heist novel and definitely the most fun I have ever had in the writer's chair. Here's the hook ...

Jed Collins, fresh from jail, is struggling to go
straight when he hooks up with wild child Gail. Before long Jed's back
to blagging - with Gail in tow. But Jed has a past, and Gail has a
secret about her gangster father she wants to keep under wraps. In
R.I.P Robbie Silva, one week in the Scottish capital for Jed and Gail
turns into a bloody rollercoaster ride that leads straight to
hell.

Early reads have been beyond generous, with Irish noir master Ken Bruen coughing up this beaut of a blurb:

"It's great ... creates a genuinely engaging picture of strangers in a strange land, as well as carving a haunting space between historical reality and timeless fable." -Nick Barlay, Granta 'Best of Young British Novelists'

"In this, his next book, Tony Black demonstrates what a talented and versatile writer he is. His prose is at times spare and at times poetic as Tony delivers up a fascinating and moving novel." -Michael Malone, author of The Guillotine Choice

Followers

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Edgy, Glasgow noir

'It's perfect, just perfect ...'

'Black put his heart and soul into this, and the very personal, cathartic nature of the novel makes it a hard one to put down.'

-The Herald

'This is a tale of father and son, man and wife, and how a journey to be reunited can mean rediscovering part of yourself that was buried long ago – and Black tells it perfectly.'

-Scotland on Sunday

'Heartfelt and incredibly moving, the sins of the fathers are confronted in a narrative that seethes with raw, blistering emotions.'

-The Daily Record

Tales in the raw Scots

New short fiction

Cross-examining crime writers

"For anyone at all interested in crime writers and crime writing - hell, for anyone even vaguely interested in writing and stories - this is an indispensable collection, full of insight and revelation." -Doug Johnstone

Includes the Vachss interview

The USA stories

'It is very rare that you will encounter such tight prose, strong narrative and pitch perfect dialogue in so many offerings from the one author.'-Crime Squad

OUT NOW IN USA (pbk & e-book)

The Eve News serial

'Black's Gus Dury novels revelled in their hardcore authenticity and this novella is both an update and a reminder of Dury's intoxicating brilliance.'-Daily Record

As seen in Esquire Mag

The Inverness Courier serial

A Scottish festive story

The ultimate noir heist

"R.I.P Robbie Silva might be the most dead-on accurate description of Edinburgh since Trainspotting."-Barry Graham

"Lightning pace, a very nice twist that raises it above the typical crime story, and more heart than I would've expected. What makes this really sing, though, is the writing, which is exceptional."-Dave Zeltserman

"Tony Black is the Tom Waits of Crime Fiction, yes, that good."-Ken Bruen

The Ayrshire Post serial

"This is an elegiac noir for the memory of a place, delivered in a prose as bleakly beautiful as the setting."-The Guardian

"Another masterclass in Tartan Noir. Not a single word is wasted."-Daily Record"This is the Great Scottish Novel, got it all and just a wee shade more. Classic." -Ken Bruen, author of Headstone

"The book is a quick, thrilling read that ticks all the boxes of a truly engaging crime novel."-Scottish Field"Tony Black is clearly the major existentialist crime writer working today and The Storm Without is also his most humanistic book."-You Would Say That, Wouldn't You?"Highly entertaining, fast paced and tightly, almost sparingly, written."-Undiscovered Scotland

"An excellent piece of work ... lean ... pacy ... packs one hell of a punch. Everything you’d want from a Tony Black book is here."-Crime Fiction Lover

"Powerful, focused, and intense ... and then it gets better. Get your money down early on this young man -- he's dead serious and deadly accurate"-Andrew Vachss, author of Hard Candy'Only two books in and Tony Black is already one of my favourite living crime writers. Gutted is simply superb' -Nick Stone, author of Mr Clarinet

“Maybe the best novel I’ve read all year … a stunning piece of work”-Allan Guthrie, author of Bye Bye Baby

'Ripping, gutsy prose and a witty wreck of a protaganist makes this another exceptionally compelling, bright and even original thriller'-Daily Mirror

'If you've yet to discover the hardcore brilliance of Gus Dury, pour yourself a large one and start here' -Daily Record

'If you're a fan of the Ian Rankins, Denise Minas and Irvine Welshes of this world, this is most certainly one for you'-Scotsman

'Tony Black is my favourite British crime writer and Gus Dury the genre's most interesting protagonist. Like his previous books, Loss has the power, style and street swagger that makes most of his contemporaries a little bland by comparison'-Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting'Tony Black has written two of the finest crime novels to come out of the UK in the past twenty years and I'm willing to bet that in twenty years, Paying for It and Gutted will be on the top ten list of any crime list. But now comes Loss ... Phew-oh ... It's like having yer ass kicked and yer heart shrived simultaneously. What a privilege to watch a master writer achieve everything you'd hoped for and then some' -Ken Bruen, author of London Boulevard

"Comparisons with Rebus will be obvious. But that would be too easy ... Black has put his defiant, kick-ass stamp on his leading man, creating a character that deftly carries the story through every razor-sharp twist and harrowing turn."-Daily Record“An authentic yet unique voice, Tony Black shows why he is leading the pack in British crime fiction today. His deeply disturbing previous books have been labeled tartan noir, but Murder Mile is in a class of its own”- New York Journal of Books

"In a departure from his brilliant Gus Dury series, Tony Black introduces a new character to the Edinburgh crime scene, DI Rob Brennan. Dury is the new star of Scottish noir, Brennan proves lightning can strike twice."-The Daily Record

'Black renders his nicotine-stained domain in a hardboiled slang that fizzles with vicious verisimilitude'-The Guardian'An accomplished and impressive piece of tartan noir'-The List

'Black's visceral prose makes this a superior offering in a crowded market'-Big Issue

'With comparisons to the likes of Irvine Welsh and William McIlvanney echoing in his ears, Tony Black has become a top-class author in his own right. In his fifth novel, Black once again brings Edinburgh to life in a way few can'-3AM Magazine